Lotta Harala has run a new Finnish record of 12.65 in the 100 meter hurdles in Switzerland. In the second run of the day, Harala and former SE woman Reetta Hurske ran a time of 12.69.
16:24•Updated 17:29
Lotta Harala, 32, has run a new Finnish record in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The new Finnish record for the 100-meter hurdles is 12.65.
Harala, representing Tampere Pyrintö, was fourth in the preliminaries with a time of 12.65, which is lower than Harala’s teammate Reetta Hurskeen 12.68 by SE that ran earlier this year.
Harala’s previous own record was 12.74. In May, Harala ran the all-time Finnish time of 12.64 in a record-unworthy tailwind in Espoo.
The conditions for the record run were perfect, because in La Chaux de Fonds the race is held at an altitude of just under 1,000 meters above sea level. In the run of La Chaux de Fonds, there was a tailwind of 1.5 meters per second.
Hurske was sixth in the heats with an excellent time of 12.76. It was the fastest Nadine Visser With a Dutch record of 12.42. Polish Pia Skrzyszowska was another at the same time as Visser.
Later in the final, Harala and Hurske ran both times of 12.69 and shared the fourth place. So Hurske missed his record by only one hundredth.
The race was won by Visser with a tremendous time of 12.36. It is a record for the Netherlands. In the world statistics, Visser’s time is sixth hardest. Poland’s Skrzyszowska finished second, losing to Visser by only one hundredth.
Harala improved his record dramatically
Before this year, Harala’s record was 12.85, which he ran a year ago in the same La Chaux-de-Fonds. In Kuortane on June 22, when Hurske ran the previous SE, Harala ran a time of 12.74.
Harala had a strong start to the season, as shown by the tailwind result in Espoo’s Leppävaara. After that, however, he suffered from a pinched nerve in his hind legs, which made the European Championships in Rome a little disappointing. Harala ran a time of 12.98 in the semi-finals and qualified for the final.
Now Harala has clearly solved his health problems. In the Kuortanene GP, Hurske and Harala both also broke the Paris Olympic limit.
Pyrinnö’s duo has been named to the Paris Olympic team.
Updated the story on 14 July 2024 at 17:26: added the results of the final.